Tarihsel Gelişim van Ruimtevaartuigen: Van Sputnik tot de ruimteboten

Auteur / Redacteur: Eren Yalçın•12 October 2026

✓ Editorially Verified

The first spacecraft was the German-made V-2 rocket. Launched in June 1944 from Peenemünde, in what was then East Prussia, the V-2 became the first spacecraft to reach 189 km in altitude. However, other flights that reached this altitude also exist. During the 1940s, various test launches were made for V-2 rockets, and some of these reached altitudes above 100 km. This altitude is considered to be spaceflight by the International Aviation Federation and is known as the Karman line.

The second human space vehicle to be named Freedom 7 was launched on 5 May 1961, during a suborbital flight, carrying American astronaut Alan Shepard to an altitude of about 187 km. Five more manned space vehicles were launched using the Mercury spacecraft.